Dedicated to exposing the abuses of human rights, threats to the security of the free world, and attacks on general decency committed by Communist China, and to influencing policy in the free world to ensure these egregious acts do not go unopposed.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Witness to theTibetshooting speaks out: One of the Tibetans who attempted to escape Communist occupation described how Communist border guards "opened fire, killing a 25-year-old Buddhist nun and another person" (Washington Times) and captured the rest, sending them to be "tortured with cattle prods and forced into hard labor."

HuJintao in Cameroon: The Communist leader began his Africa tour with "a series of bilateral co-operation agreements" (BBC) with Cameroonian leader Paul Biya.

More whispers of a debacleredux in the Koreancolony nuclear talks: As the six participants (Communist China, the U.S., Japan, Russia, Stalinist North Korea, and South Korea) prepare for the next round of talks in Beijing, the Bush Administration has given its negotiators "new freedom to explore different outcomes and proposals with their North Korean counterparts" (Washington Post). This includes softening the American position on the complete dismantling on SNK's nuclear program (Washington Times- h/t One Free Korea, who also explains why this is a terrible development). The Stalinists responded to Washington's weakness with a threat to conduct a second test if they didn't get whatever they wanted (Daily NK).

More on the Communist-backed mullahcracy: The President pours cold water on the notion, promulgated by some Democrats (Newsmax), that he's looking for war with the mullahs (ABC News). The mullahs themselves seem quite content, however, to take the fight to us (Time and Worldwide Standard). Terence Jeffrey (Townhall) takes note of the mullahcracy's clout in Iraq. The future Central Command chief calls Tehran's influence in the Middle East "destabilizing" (Washington Post); Europe seems to disagree (Times of London). The mullahs want Russia to join it in creating son-of-OPEC (Cybercast News). Michael Rubin has the rest of the news from Iran (National Review Online: The Corner).

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Number of Communist missiles pointed at Taiwan near 1,000: The exact figure, given by President Chen Shui-bian in an interview with Talk Asia (reprinted by CNN), was 988; "the figure has increased by 168 missiles" in one year alone, according to Chen.

President Bush "has not asked" for satellite defense: Brigadier General Patrick O'Reilly of the Missile Defense Agency said the current ballistic-missile-defense technology "could be used to counter China's anti-satellite weapon" (Voice of America via Epoch Times). He wasn't sure hoe long it would take; in fact, it "has not even begun because President Bush has not asked for it" (emphasis added). Meanwhile, the arms-control folks are growing louder in their calls for a treaty (Cybercast News), while Arizona Senator John Kyl demanded "a major program to counter China from attacking U.S. satellites" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times).

HuJintao begins Africa tour: The Communist leader will likely sing a bunch of trade deals (BBC) and ignore the call from the editors of the Washington Post to bring his Sudanese allies to heel on Darfur.

Communist China's Koreancolony and MiddleEasternProxyNumber One join ICBM efforts: According to the aforementioned general O'Reilly, the Communist-backed mullahcracy of Iran and Stalinist North Korea are "working towards developing a space launch capability, which also would give them an ICBM capability" (Gertz). This comes amid reports of nuclear cooperation between the two Beijing allies - reports the Stalinists, of course, denied (CNN).

Nuclear talks to resume on February 8: Communist China, SNK's oldest ally, will once again host the talks - as it has done with every round (BBC).Has a high-ranking Stalinist defected? Amid reports that former Stalinist propaganda chief Jung Ha Chol "has escaped North Korea" (Daily NK), the SNK regime is unwittingly giving said reports credibility by attempting remove every reference or memory of the man in northern Korea (One Free Korea). Jung would be one of over 10,000 Koreans who escaped Stalinism - if he can make it to South Korea (Daily NK).

Czech Republic shuts the door on SNK slavery: The Czech government "decided to end the practice of having North Koreans work in Czech factories under what one human rights organization has described as 'slave' conditions" (Agence France Presse via Washington Times).

Back to the Communist-backed mullahcracy: Former UN Ambassador John Bolton calls for Iran's liberation (Washington Times). President Bush insists the United States "will 'respond firmly' if Iranian agents inside Iraq escalate their attacks or supply materials used to attack U.S. troops or Iraqis" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times), leading many in the Middle East to wonder if harsher action is on the way (UPI via Washington Times and Washington Post via MSNBC), while Stanley Kurtz(National Review Online: TheCorner) ponders what would happen if the mullahs actually became a nuclear power. TheUnited Nations wants Tehran to takew a nuclear "timeout" (UPI via Washington Times), and oddly enough, they mat get it - due to the death of an Iranian scientist (AdnKronosInt'l; h/t Michael Rubin, who also has the rest of the news on Iran in NRO: The Corner). Of course, Russia is making no effort to slow the mullahs' nuclear ambitions (NRO: The Corner).

Monday, January 29, 2007

Was the ASAT launch part of an internal Communist power struggle? That's what Lee Ming (Epoch Times) believes.

More on matters inside Communist China: Communist China admits its ecology is a mess (BBC); the regime is less honest about organ harvesting (Epoch Times). The cadres are concerned about Olympic corruption (BBC); Boycott 2008 has more pressing and immediate concerns.

More reaction to the ASAT launch: Mark N. Katz sees the launch as a reason to get out of Iraq (United Press Int'l via Washington Times); yours truly does not agree. Michael Goldfarb (Worldwide Standard) and James Hackett (Washington Times) are more focused on the issue at hand.1.3 billion customers trumped by fifty-odd million thieves: Free-market capitalism does not exist without the rule of law. Andrea Mandel Campbell (Macleans) reveals just how far away the Chinese Communist Party is from the rule of law in business transactions, complete with Canadian victims.

Communist China claims a piece of Korea, again: This time it's the Mount Paektu region, an area currently "split between China and North Korea" (One Free Korea). This is a partial rehash of the Communists' "Koguryo" campaign, by which they claim "historical" title to almost all of Stalinist North Korea (third item).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Today's dubious prize goes to Robert Carlin and John W. Lewis (Washington Post) for this shockingly bad representation of the Stalinists' point of view on the six-party talks: "Three strategic foes - China, Japan and Russia - sit in judgment, apply pressure and (to Pyongyang's mind) insist on the North's permanent weakness." Communist China is a strategic foe of SNK?! Please.

More on Communist China's Koreancolony: The U.S. makes its ban of luxury exports to SNK official (OFK). The Stalinists rip South Korea for - get this - internet censorship (OFK). Daily NKcalls on the new United Nations Secretary General to focus on human rights abuses in SNK. A Stalinist sympathizer is arrested in Japan on suspicion of "dispatching workers without properly notifying the labor minister" and "providing cutting-edge technologies to Pyongyang" (UPI via Washington Times).

Friday, January 26, 2007

Communist China's Koreancolony helping MiddleEasternProxyNumber One test a nuke: As part of "a new understanding between the two countries" (London Telegraph), the Stalinist regime "said it would divulge to Iranian scientists information garnered from its successful secret test back in October" (Fox News), as part of an effort to have the Communist-backed mullahcracy conduct a nuclear test "by the end of this year" (One Free Korea - emphasis in original). Tehran may be able test a nuclear device even sooner, according to John Pike (cited by Worldwide Standard). More news on Stalinist North Korea and Iran can be found further below in this post.Communist ally Pakistan still an alQaeda sanctuary: Even Osama bin Laden and Aymanal-Zawahiri have made use of the "accepted haven" (CNN) createdfortheminwesternPakistan.Duncan Hunter declares:He who must be president is now an official candidate for the White House (Townhall).

Communists stretch the long arm of lawlessness into the Pacific, tracking an exiled dissident and threatening an Australian performer (EpochTimes).Refugees known as the "Shenyang Six" still in Communist China: LiNK finds hope in the fact that these six escapees(tenth item) have not be sent back to Stalinist North Korea, yet (One Free Korea).

Qixia - another "village election" exposed as a sham: Before events like the Taishi incident came to anyone's attention, the Communists made much political hay internationally for "village elections." Hannah Beech (Time) adds another remote locality to the list of places victimized by this sham - Qixia.

Politically correct repression - Christians suffer while Muslims are handed an empty symbol: Communist China has decided to "ban all verbal and visual pork references from advertisements during Lunar New Year celebrations next month . . . to avoid offending Muslims" (Fox News). Of course, granting them more freedom to worship and ending the occupation of East Turkestan were not considered. Meanwhile, the persecution of Christians also continues (Boycott 2008).

Communists pick their fellow cadres over murder-rape victim: A Sichuan receptionist, aged 16, "was suspected to have been raped and killed by three local officials on December 29, 2006" (Sound of Hope via Epoch Times). The local cadres fell in line to support the three perps, and when thousands protested, "The authorities mobilized thousands of police to use high-pressure water canons to suppress the protesters."

Communists use bribes and beatings to suppress the truth: A reporter at China Trade News was beaten to death after discovering an illegal mine in Shanxi (BBC). Local cadres "suggested Mr Lan was not an accredited journalist and may have been trying to extort money." Of course, paying off reporters to keep quiet about embarrassing news is hardly new in Communist China (Washington Post), but this time the cadres smeared an honest man.

Cadres' attempt to slow the economy misfires badly: Communist China's economy "expanded by 10.7% in 2006, marking the fastest growth since 1995" (BBC), this despite "a number of steps" taken by the cadres "in order to cool things down." Then again, the Communists also have a history of fudging statistics.

Back to Stalinist North Korea: Hopes are high that a nuclear deal is coming (BBC and Daily NK), while Nicholas Eberstadt best explains why a deal should be feared instead (Time), and reports of a coup against Kim Jong-il are debunked, we think (OFK and United Press Int'l via Washington Times). While the UN scrambles to determine if KJI made off with development funds (OFK, UPI via Washington Times, and WashingtonTimes), dovish South Korea insists such a thing could never happen to the loot it shipped north (UPI via Washington Times). DailyNKexaminesthe SNK black market; northern Koreans get more frustrated at the regime's mismanagement (Daily NK).

Bush Administration is getting serious about Iranian infiltration in Iraq, and it's about time (National Review Online: The Corner, Washington Post via MSNBC, and Washington Times).The mullahcracy is also moving against the free world in Afghanistan through its warlord proxy, GulbuddinHekmatyar (New York Post).More on the Communist-backed mullahcracy: Mad Mouthpiece Mahmoud visits Syria, promises the end of Israel and the United States (Newsmax and Ynet); Israel is naturally worried (Cybercast News and Washington Times). The mullahs are planning a space launch (Fox News), meaning they could also fire an ICBM if it succeeds. They are reaching out to Belarus (Worldwide Standard) and playing the "diplomacy" game in Lebanon (Washington Times). Meanwhile, the United States is trying to cobble together an anti-Tehran alliance; reaction is mixed (Small Dead Animals and Washington Times). Finally, Michael Rubin has respective links on the latest from Iran, and a site to track Iranian labor dissident news (NRO:TheCorner).

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

A number of things have popped up to keep me away from the blogosphere (including a home network that has become very patchy). I'm hopeful I can post tomorrow, but more likely I'll be down until Friday.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Communist China confirms ASAT launch, but U.S. still okay with regime hosting SNK talks: These were the maddening words of Christopher Hill, America's leading point-man on the six-party debacle, regarding the non-reaction of the United States to the anti-satellite test vis a vis the SNK talks - "My government's position on that is pretty clear. We've certainly conveyed [concern] to the Chinese, but I would say the six-party talks are on a different track" (Washington Times, emphasis added). For more on American wobbliness, see One FreeKorea; for more on the anti-satellitelaunch, see BBC, BBC again, EpochTimes, Charles R. Smith of Newsmax, andWorldwide Standard).

More on Communist China and its Koreancolony: South Korean politicians call on the Stalinists to end their agreement with the colonial master to have all refugees sent back to them (DailyNK). South Korean dovishness gets the rhetorical doube-barrel from Daily NKand One FreeKorea. OFK and Small Dead Animals has the latest on the SNK-UN scandal. James Dresnok, the "last US defector" (BBC) to SNK, spews out more Stalinist propaganda.

Communist China stretches the long arm of lawlessness into North America and Singapore: Among the victims are New Tang Dynasty Television, the Falun Gong spiritual group (Between Heavenand Earth), and ordinary practitioners (BHaE, Epoch Times, Human Rights Law Foundation via EpochTimes).

On Taiwan: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission examines the history of the island democracy (Epoch Times); National War College Bernard Cole opines that Taiwan would be better off building its own submarines (Worldwide Standard).

More on the Iranian mullahcracy: The higher-ups may be tiring of Mad Mouthpiece Mahmoud (Newsmax). As Israel grows more worried about the mullahcracy (New York Sun), it may be finding itself in unusual company (MSNBC and Newsmax). The LosAngeles Times unwittingly presents an example of bad journalism (Worldwide Standard). Meanwhile, the mullahs themselves lash out at Israel (United Press Int'l via Washington Times), the United States (Agence France Presse via Iran Focus), and the United Nations (UPI via Washington Times). Michael Rubin (NRO: The Corner) has the rest of the news from the mullahcracy.Middle Eastern Proxy Number Three (Hezbollah) sets Lebanon ablaze: After finding that mass marches didn't work against Lebanon's elected government, the Tehran-backed terrorists resorted to setting tires on fire (BBC, Time, and TheTimes of London).

Monday, January 22, 2007

Communists stay mum about anti-satellite test and place Jian-10 planes opposite Taiwan: Amidst growing U.S. anger over its anti-satellitemissile launch (BBC and the Epoch Times), Communist China "refused to confirm or deny the incident, but said Beijing wanted no arms race in space" (Washington Times) - gee, thanks, fellas (see BBC and Timefor more on this). Meanwhile, a dozen Jian-10 fighter planes are already deployed - within 500 miles of Taiwan (Taipei Times). The fate of Taiwan is also a major factor in the ASAT realm, as William Buckley (National Review Online) notes. Rand Simberg (TCS) also weighs in.

Old veterans given short shrift in favor of new weapons: Last week, roughly 50 retired members of the badly misnamed People's Liberation Army came to Beijing, to protest the abysmal way the regime has treated them since they retired (Epoch Times).Imagine the outrage if anyone tried this in the Katrina aftermath: Housing built for flood victims in Pengze County (Jiangxi) is seized by local cadres for their own use (Epoch Times).More on the state of the workers in the workers' state: James Reynolds (BBC) has an eye-opening piece on pollution in the rural interior. Meanwhile, real estate "tycoon" ZhouZhengyi is arrested, again (BBC, see also tenth, twenty-sixth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth items).

Factional battle within the party continues: The JiangZemin faction's new leader - ZengQinghong, has his eye on the regime Presidency as part of his attempt to grab the ultimate prize - Central Military Commission Chair (Freedom Press via Epoch Times).

Tibetan Youth conduct anti-Olympic protest as regime plans domination of the Games: The Tibetans' protest was covered by Boycott 2008, while the BBC had this quote from Simon Clegg of the British Olympic Association, "In sporting terms, actually, we're all at war against China".

Communists to move "diversify" investments of foreign reserves: In other words, the "70 per cent of reserves . . . believed to be held in US dollars" (Financial Times) won't stay that way. What this will mean for the regime's deliberately devalued currency is unclear, but it was in part maintained by said reserve holdings of American dollars.

Tom Tancredo rips Mexico for denying airspace to Chen Shui-bian: The Colorado Congressman and presidential candidate "said that the reason for the refusal was clear and simple: Chinese pressure" (Taipei Times).

Vatican offers to throw Taiwan under the bus - again: Yours truly's upset at his faith again, after its leader is preparing an "attempt to restore full diplomatic relations with Beijing" (BBC). Of course, the cadres made it out to be far more than it actually was (BBC), but what is actually was is troubling enough.

One Korean refugee repatriated by Communist China dies in custody: This phrase from One Free Korea was more than a little unnerving, "She apparently was in ill health and froze to death in police custody."

More on Korean refugees and Communist China: The Stalinist regime is "frantically searching for people linked to helping the recent escape of abducted fisherman ChoiWookIl to South Korea" (Daily NK, see also One Free Korea). Meanwhile, a leader in South Korea's hawkish opposition wil propose greater protection for refugees once they reach South Korean consulates in Communist China (One Free Korea).

United Nations scrambling to stop Stalinist North Korea from pilfering funds: The UN Development Program is now under heavy scrutiny after news of SNK diversion of funds came to light (BBC, One Free Korea, Washington Post, and Washington Times, see also next to last item).Hundreds freezing to death in SNK: The London Telegraphfinds many reasons, most tied to Stalinist incompetence; One Free Korea adds one more - "famine, which often kills by depriving the body of the ability to resist cold and disease, is beginning again."More on Communist China's Korean colony: SNK is still trying to unfreeze money from Banco Delta (Daily NK). The next round of six -party talks will apparently start "within two weeks" (Washington Times). South Korea's dovishness is roundly criticized (Daily NK, OneFreeKorea, and Washington Times), while Japan is getting tougher (One Free Korea).

Is an attack against the Iranian mullahcracy coming? The Arab Times think so (via Strategic Intel).More on Middle Eastern ProxyNumberOne (Iran): The most prominent Iranian dissident, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, blasts Mad Mouthpiece Mahmoud (BBC). Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu wants the Mad Mouthpiece tried "for incitement to genocide" (Newsmax). The mullahs say they want to talk, but not make any concessions (Strategic Intel). On the commentary side, Senator Joe Biden is his usual, incoherent self (Washington Times); Carlos Pascual and Michael O'Hanlon are more articulate but just as bad (Washington Times); James Woosley is far more sensible (United Press Int'l via Washington Times).

Friday, January 19, 2007

Criticism pours in on Communist Chinese anti-satellite weapon: The Communist test of an anti-satellite missile received criticism from nearly every corner of the world - save Russia, which refused to acknowledge the test (Strategic Intel). Among those who ripped the test were the United States (Times of London), Great Britain (United Press Int'l via Washington Times), Canada (MSNBC), Japan (BBC), Australia (see earlier links), and even the dovish Union of Concerned Scientists (UPI via Washington Times).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: Of course, some used the incident to restart calls for a treaty banning anti-satellite weapons (The Corner and the Times of London). Naturally, the folks at the Corner did not agree, but today's prize goes to NBC's James Oberg (via MSNBC) for his detailed analysis of the weapon itself and why a treaty would be a terrible mistake: "The treaty would mean only what each signatory thought it meant — except in the United States, where a ratified treaty would become subject to federal court enforcement and thus would mean whatever any crusading judge wanted it to mean." Bingo.

Guess where the leader of the Taliban is? According to his recently captured mouthpiece, he's "in southwestern Pakistan and is protected by that country's powerful intelligence service" (Strategic Intel). It should be noted that Pakistan is one of Communist China's oldest allies - dating back nearly 60 years.

More on Communist China and the United States: Strategic Intel has the details on Communist China's continuing military buildup; Lev Navrozov focuses on post-nuclear weaponry in Newsmax. On the lighter side, Martin Scorsese's The Departed runs into the Communist censorship wall (BBC).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Will Hutton begins his Guardiancolumn thusly, "Nobody wants to be an apologist for Mao." He then spends the rest of the column belying his opening sentence (h/t Andrew Stuttaford - Member since 2002 - in The Corner).

Calls for the liberation of Iran come from admittedly familiar folks: Kenneth Timmerman (Front Page Magazine) and Michael Ledeen (National Review Online).Iranian "moderates" want to use Communist China as a model:AmirTaheri (New York Post) removes, perhaps unwittingly, the "moderate" facade Khomeinists not happy with Mad Mouthpiece Mahmoud have used to hide their true selves: "A powerful class of business-mullahs has always advocated the Chinese model" (emphasis added). Does anyone think thispasthistory might have something to do with that?More on Middle Eastern ProxyNumberOne: The mullahs' 3,00 centrifuges are growing nearer to reality (Voice of America via Epoch Times), but the United Nations is worried about offending Tehran (Strategic Intel). Maddeningly, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is still talking "engagement" with the mullahs (Washington Times), but their terrorist friends in Iraq are still in our crosshairs (Strategic Intel). Michael Rubin (The Corner) has the rest of the news from Iran.Stalinist North Korea stole "tens of millions of dollars of hard currency" in a UN scam: Fox News has the latest on the Stalinist scam, and the UN's willingness to keep it a secret.More on Communist China's Koreancolony: Both the U.S. and Stalinist North Korea say the Berlin talks (sixth item) went well. How well is a matter of debate (Agence France Presse via News.com.au, BBC, The Corner, Daily NK, UPI via Washington Times, Washington Times), but it went well enough to restart the six-party talks (One Free Korea, UPI via Washington Times). Meanwhile, Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il fired a cabinet minister who insisted on expanding the regime electrical grid to help the northern Korean people (Daily NKandOFK).

Thursday, January 18, 2007

After fretting for months about the possibility that the 2008 Presidential election would have no anti-Communist candidates, I am faced with an unexpected dilemma - not one anti-Communist in the race, but two - now that Tom Tancredo has thrown his hat into the ring (Denver Post). This means all of us in the anti-Communist community have to choose between Messrs. Hunter and Tancredo.

I supported Duncan Hunter when he first entered this race, and I will continue to do so.

Just so there is no misunderstanding, Hunter and Tancredo are each head and shoulders above the rest of the 2008 field - Republican and Democrat. Either, if they were running alone, would be a lock for the anti-Communist vote. However, the fact that both are running leaves us not choice but to compare - and Mr. Hunter is the better choice.

Firstly, Congressman Hunter has the longer and more impressive resume. Not only has he served in Congress longer than Tancredo (27 years to Tancredo's 9), he has also been Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and has been a leader on the anti-Communist issue for a longer period of time. In addition to the history I listed here, Congressman Hunter was the leading force behind the effort to block Communist China's attempt to infiltrate the Long Beach, California port.

Secondly, Mr. Hunter does not have the general election negatives Mr. Tancredo has. For the most part, this is not Tancredo's fault, MSM has excoriated him on the illegal immigration issue, while Hunter, despite a near-identical record on the subject, has been largely spared. However, Tancredo has, from time to time, brought the maelstrom upon himself needlessly, particularly with his assertion that the United States should at some point close its borders not only to economic refugees, but also to political refugees (speech) - an absolute political (and policy) no-no.

Finally, while Tancredo has an excellent anti-Communist record, his campaign platform is clearly the illegal immigration issue alone. On the political side, it risks him becoming a Johnny one-note, which is practically a death knell at the presidential level. Hunter, by contrast, is clearly more well-rounded in his agenda.

On the policy side, it appears Tancredo considers illegal immigration as a threat to America to be handled at the deprioritization of all others, which is troubling to say the least. It is the only way I can explain Tancredo'sassertion that no one in the campaign shares his concern over illegal immigration (Washington Post), all but ignoring Hunter's record. Is Tancredo implying one cannot be serious about illegal immigration and talk about other dangers to America, such as Communist China? Can we not walk and chew gum at the same time?

Again, compared to anyone else in the field, Tancredo's faults could be considered minimal. However, he is not the only anti-Communist in the race; he is not the first anti-Communist in the race; and unfortunately for him, he is not the best anti-Communist in the race.

I mention all of this now because as it dawns on more Republicans and pundits that the GOP presidential nomination is growing more wide open, the opportunity for an anti-Communist to win the nomination continues to grow. However, it will only happen with one anti-Communist in the race, not two dividing the vote, and making it easier for a conservative without good anti-Communist credentials (Gingrich, Romney, Brownback, etc.) to advance at their - and our - expense.

Therefore, it is imperative that the American electorate see only one anti-Communist, and I would humbly submit we should make sure is the best. The best anti-Communist in the race remains Duncan Hunter. As such, I remain his man.

Communist China tests anti-satellite weapon: The U.S. military discovered that the Communist regime "performed a successful anti-satellite (asat) weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude Jan. 11 destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile" (Aviation Week & Space Technology via Worldwide Standard). Jeffrey Lewis, a man in a profession I rarely quote (arms control analysis) had this to say on his Arms Control Wonk blog: "the Chinese will simply not be credible partners in efforts to keep space peaceful."

More on Communist China and the United States: Charles R. Smith (Newsmax) provides the details of Chang Feng, the Communist-owned firm looking to sell SUV's here. The Communist roots run so deep "that Mr. Li JianXin, chairman of company, was elected the 10th deputy to the Communist National People's Congress in 2003." Meanwhile, revelers in San Francisco celebrate the 17 million CCP members who have quit in disgust (Epoch Times).

European Union arms embargo to stay in place: Both the Brussels bureaucracy (BBC) and the German Prime Minister, who will hold the EU's rotating Presidency until June (Voice of America via Epoch Times), expressed their support for the arms ban.

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: John Derbyshire (National Review Online, and Member since 2002) examines Communist China's growing economic and political influence on the continent. Wu Baozhang, formerly of Radio France International Chinese program, calls the Chinese Communist Party a "key obstacle to peace" (Epoch Times).

South Korea offers weak apology after SNK refugees under its care captured by Communists: Nine refugees from Stalinist North Korea came to the South Korean consulate in Shenyang asking assistance. The consulate so thoroughly botched the thing that the refugees were caught by the Communists and sent back. The dovish South Korean government offered a laughably weak apology (BBC), which led One Free Korea to wonder if something more sinister is afoot.

More on Communist China's Koreancolony: DailyNKprovides two examples of how the Stalinist regime tolerates absolutely no dissent. U.S.-SNK talks end with a promise of more (VOA via Epoch Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times) - and no, that's not a good thing. The commander of American troops in South Korea criticizes the efforts of South Korea's dovish government to take overall command of the defense against SNK (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). The Stalinists rip the hawkish South Korean opposition (OFK).

More from the China Freedom Blog Alliance: BetweenHeaven and Earth has respective posts on Communist propaganda on Canadian TV, the flap over New tang Dynasty Television's New Year's Event, and the reality of Communist China's impoverished rural interior.

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Cato's Ted Galen Carpenter calls on the Bush Administration to "negotiate with more sensible elements of Iran's governing elite" (UPI via Washington Times), while ever mentioning who these supposedly "sensible elements" are.More on Middle Eastern ProxyNumberOne (Iran): Bush Administration critic Lawrence Wilkerson is highlighting a "package of concessions" (BBC's words) offered the United States four years ago by the mullahs - why he assumes that the regime would be "more transparent" about a nuclear weapons program it has refused to acknowledge to this day was left unanswered. Meanwhile, the Administration's tough talk on Iran's interference in Iraq wins praise (Newsmax) and, possibly, quick results (Strategic Intel). Israel wants tougher sanctions against the mullahs (Cybercast News). Michael Rubin has the rest of the news on Iran (The Corner).

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Dick Morris says Duncan Hunter can win: The former Clinton advisor and current pundit says none of the "front-runners" will earn the Republican nomination: "I think that the Republican nominee is going to be one of these minor leaguers: [Tom] Tancredo, [Mike] Huckabee, [Sam] Brownback, [Jim] Gilmore from Virginia, Duncan Hunter from California" (Newsmax - emphasis added - UPDATE: Naturally, I don't agree with Morris' "minor leaguers" characterization).

More on Communist China and the United States: As the Communist military sets out to advance the interests of the regime (Chengmingvia Epoch Times), including into space (Bill Gertz, Washington Times), our military - the Air Force in particular - is suffering "pronounced" (Worldwide Standard) decay.

On Communist China in Canada: The Communists have perfected the double-standard technique in the Great White North. Free speech and cultural diversity are just fine when they are doing the talking (Between Heaven and Earth), but woe to anyone who suggests dissidents and their supporters should be allowed a voice (Daimnation).

In Hong Kong, one country/one-and-a-half systems supports "one child" policy: The Communist-picked Hong Kong regime noticed several expectant mothers, "tempted by Hong Kong residency rights, the chance to dodge China's one-child policy, and higher standards of medical care" (BBC) were entering the city just before birth so that their children could experience partial freedom. The city regime will have none of that: "any pregnant woman coming from China without a hospital booking will be turned back at the border."Communist China issues more boilerplate on its Koreancolony: What sounded like some excellent diplomatic news was exposed as and old canard by One Free Korea - "They also called for full implementation of U.N. Resolutions against North Korea, which suggests that this is just noise. Neither China nor South Korea has taken compliance with 1695 or 1718 seriously."

More on Stalinist North Korea: U.S. and SNK negotiators hold talks in Germany (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). The Stalinist efforts to steal international food aid has led donors to stop giving, but the regime continues to steal from its own people (One FreeKorea). Meanwhile, Shin JooHyun (Daily NK) has had enough of South Korea's dovish silliness (One FreeKorea).